New Â鶹ֱ²¥-led research has found a more effective way to improve the output of autonomous power sources, such as triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), commonly used to power vital mining equipment in remote or underground locations where power points and batteries are not practical.<\/p>\n
The research, published in the Journal Nano Energy<\/em>, found that using silicon on the surface of the autonomous power sources, without having to rely on plastic surfaces likes previous models, could dramatically increase both the voltage and duration of the output, enabling equipment to be kept charged for up to 10 times longer.<\/p>\n TENGs are commonly used in the mining industry to power remote sensors which measure oxygen levels, CO2<\/sub> levels, gas leaks, temperature, vibrations, and pressure and then feed the information back to the monitoring station.<\/p>\n Lead researcher Associate Professor Simone Ciampi, from the School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said the breakthrough could boost efficiencies and reduce costs for mining and similar industries around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are in a remote location, or perhaps underground and don\u2019t have access to traditional power sources, we need to ensure there is another form of power that we can rely on,\u201d said Associate Professor Ciampi.<\/p>\n \u201cAutonomous power technologies such as TENGs work in a similar way to static electricity. Most of us have felt the \u2018shock\u2019 from touching a metallic object after putting on a jumper or walking across carpet. This happens as a result of charge build-up whenever two dissimilar materials (such as our body and the fabric) come in contact with each other.<\/p>\n \u201cThese TENGs are extremely useful in remote situations because of their ability to convert mechanical energy from vibrations or pressure into electricity. However, this type of power output is short lived and can\u2019t run a device for a long period of time.<\/p>\n \u201cOur team was able to find an innovation solution to this problem. By using a particular silicon crystal facet, Si(211) in the engineering phase when developing these power sources, we were able to dramatically improve the current output, compared to using common silicon crystals such as the Si(100) commonly used in computers.\u201d<\/p>\n Co-author Xin Lyu, also from Curtin\u2019s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said the findings were important and could be beneficial to industries such as mining who rely on autonomous power sources for their day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n \u201cRemote sensors need little power, but continuously recharging a battery is costly and almost impossible. Our findings provide an innovative solution to this problem by instead utilising these autonomous power sources or \u2018sustainable energy harvesters\u2019 and maximising their power output,\u201d Dr Lyu said.<\/p>\n